10 Minute Mini Book

For my first Instructable, I want to share my favorite paper project. It will have you saying goodbye to boring single fold gift cards and hello to new possibilities. All you need is a half sheet of scrapbook paper and a bit of glue. No need for anything fancy. Single-sided text-weight paper will do just fine.

The end result is a cute 4 page mini book that measures 3 inches square. Use it for gift cards, mini scrapbooks, artist notebooks, invitations, love notes, or something pretty to put on your desk. Once you learn the process, you can switch things up and use any sized paper you wish. See my examples section for a bit of inspiration.

Step 1: Gather Materials & Tools

Here's what you'll need.

• 1 sheet of paper measuring 6 x 12 inches
• Scissors or craft knife
• Glue Stick
• Bone folder or plastic gift card

Step 2: Optional Die Cut SVG File

If you have an electric die cutting machine such as a Cricut, you can use this SVG file to import into your cutting machine software so you can cut out this project electronically. This way you can size it how you want it. As you can see by the screenprint, it has curvy corners instead of straight angles.

I recommend that you make one without the cutting machine first before trying this process so you understand how the folding works.

Step 3: Fold the Paper

1. Place your paper in front of you with the long side at the top. Wrong side up.
2. Fold in half top to bottom
3. Open
4. Fold in half left to right
5. Open

Step 4: Continue Folding

With right side up . . .

1. Fold the right edge to the middle
2. Open
3. Fold the left edge to the middle
4. Open

You should now have 8 squares. The middle vertical fold is a valley fold and the left and right folds are mountain folds. Tidy up the folds by using your credit card or bone folder to give each fold a good crease.

Step 5: Cut a Slit

Cut a slit down the middle horizontal fold along the middle two sections.

Step 6: Glue

Place the page wrong side up. Use your glue stick to add glue to the 3rd square of both the top and bottom rows. Fold to glue the center squares together. Press with your fingers to adhere the glue.

Now that the middle rows are glued, you should see only 4 squares. Add glue to the bottom 2 squares. Fold from top to bottom so that the top 2 squares are glued to the bottom 2 squares.. Press with your fingers to adhere the glue.

Step 7: Admire Your Work

Your book is now complete. Examine your work. Tidy up the edges by gently trimming any exposed sections where the back of the paper is showing. Make sure the glue has adhered well. If desired, round the corners using your scissors or a corner rounder punch. If you want a book with more pages, glue 2 books together. Just glue the last page of the 1st book to the first page of the 2nd book.

Step 8: Make Someone Happy

Make a gift for someone. Here are some ideas.

• Make it extra special with your own paper. Check out my Lens Wipe Upcycle instructable for more information.
• Mini travel scrapbook
• Holiday-themed bundle
• Love note
• Birthday mini book
• Glue two together for more pages
• Make a stack for future use